Chapter 376: Chapter 337: Deep Sea Creatures

The entire purification process moved slowly and steadily, peeling away impurities layer by layer like warm water washing over years of grime.

Once finished, Anton did not linger. He moved to another location to set up the array for cultivating Spirit Souls.

As the secondary Array Hub of the Primordial Five Elements Grand Array, the Eternal Tree boasted the most abundant vitality in the entire Taichu Spirit Realm. This made it naturally suited for purification and cultivation arrays. He had previously placed the Ten Thousand Woods Spiritual Transformation Array near its roots to revive the Egg of the Old World, along with a Nourishing Array to nurture the Heaven-Overturning Seal. Now, a Purification Array and a Spirit Cultivation Array joined the mix.

Fortunately, the Eternal Tree covered a vast area, leaving plenty of room to spare even when accommodating four arrays simultaneously. It took Anton a few days to completely finish setting up the Spirit Cultivation Array.

He inserted the hundred-plus weapons into the formation one by one, ensuring each precisely corresponded to a node on the Array Map. As the array activated, a gentle stream of Spiritual Qi emanated from the center of the Array Hub, trailing along the patterns on the ground to envelop every weapon. Nurtured by this Spiritual Qi, the previously dormant Spiritual fluctuations gradually grew clear and steady, much like a parched riverbed finally welcoming the first lingering rain of the dry season.

Anton paused outside the array to inspect its operational status with his Divine Sense. After confirming that every node flowed without obstruction, he withdrew his gaze in satisfaction and turned to leave.

The array only needed to run on its own from here on out. Time would finish the rest of the work.

Returning to the Ninefold Celestial Tower, Anton walked straight into the Quiet Chamber, sat cross-legged on a woven mat, and closed his eyes to focus his mind.

Within his Dantian, his Golden Core hovered quietly like a pearl submerged in deep water. The dense, swirling patterns on its surface were far more refined than they had been years ago, smooth and warm like a pebble polished by endless tides. Four distinct cracks traced the curvature of the Pill Body, evenly spaced like the growth rings of a tree—proof that he had completed four cycles of Fetal Breathing.

"It will take at most another seven or eight years to complete the Nine Times of Fetal Breathing," Anton estimated silently. "When the time comes, I can start honing my state of mind."

Over the years, he had gathered all the materials needed for the Great Dream Formation. He only waited for the final Fetal Breathing to conclude before laying down the array and making the ultimate preparations to overcome the Cognition Breaking Barrier.

Taking a deep breath, Anton collected his thoughts and sank his presence back into his Dantian. Inside the Quiet Chamber, the gentle and constant glow of the Light Source Stone cast his silhouette against the wall. He remained entirely motionless, resembling a silent stone statue. Outside the window, the twilight slowly climbed the contours of the city wall, dyeing the sweeping eaves of the tower’s peak with a thread of dark gold.

Meanwhile, on the southeastern edge of the Holy Dragon Mountain Range, a lakeside fortress sat at the intersection of a gentle slope and the water. Walls enclosed the fortress on three sides, leaving only the side bordering the lake entirely open. Under the evening light, the grayish-blue water rippled heavily, resembling a boundless mirror.

Ezra leaned against the battlements on the section of the wall facing the Holy Dragon Mountain Range. As a Selkie currently not using a Transformation Skill, he looked like an upright-walking seal with humanoid limbs. A loose grayish-blue short robe draped over his body, its hem casually tucked into his belt to reveal his fine-furred forearms and slightly curved clawed toes.

Sitting barefoot on the edge of the parapet, he rested his spine against the rough masonry and half-squinted at the distant wreckage of the Darkness Fortress. That towering stronghold, which once spanned the Storm Rift Abyss, was now reduced to fractured walls and collapsed towers—nothing more than a ruined wasteland.

Ever since the Dragon Court’s annihilation, the five major factions had launched a new wave of war over the ownership of the Holy Dragon Mountain Range. The Darkness Fortress became the immediate battleground, utterly pulverized into rubble during the repeated tug-of-war. Without the cover of this defensive line, the entrance to the mountain range was now completely exposed.

Yet, despite the five factions fighting fiercely, none actually attempted to occupy the mountain range.

Ezra could somewhat figure out the reasoning behind this. Without the Darkness Fortress, the Holy Dragon Mountain Range became an open cage. It was easy to enter, but difficult to leave. Whoever stepped in first would simultaneously expose their back to the other four factions. They would inevitably face a joint assault, getting trapped inside like rats in a barrel. No one was stupid enough to stick their neck out.

Thus, the five factions tacitly stationed their troops on the outskirts, continuing to use the ruins of the Darkness Fortress as their battleground. The Holy Dragon Mountain Range itself became a vacuum zone that no one dared to set foot in.

Ezra lowered his eyes and sighed inwardly. When would this war ever end?

Among the five factions, their Sea Race suffered the greatest disadvantage. The continent was not their home turf, after all. Away from the water, many of their species could not unleash their full combat strength. More importantly, they could not operate on land for extended periods and needed to return to the water to rest at regular intervals.

Over a decade of warfare had left Ezra physically and mentally exhausted. Yet, he knew very well that the ownership of the Holy Dragon Mountain Range dictated the future power structure of the Dawn Continent. The Sea Race could not afford to give up under any circumstances—not unless they were utterly defeated.

Just as his thoughts drifted, the heavy, slow sound of footsteps approached from behind. Ezra turned his head and saw Daniel walking up the stone stairs on the inner side of the wall.

Daniel was a Sea Giant. Standing a full head taller than his ordinary kin, he possessed shoulders and a back as broad and thick as a reef. In the twilight, the bulging muscles of his arms gleamed with a deep blue luster. What set him apart from normal Sea Giants was the row of grayish-blue tentacles extending from his back.

Starting from below his shoulder blades, those tentacles lined up neatly along both sides of his spine. They varied in length, spreading out like the ribs of an open fan. Their surfaces were covered in fine suction cups with deep purple edges that opened and closed slightly in rhythm with his steps. With every contraction, tiny water droplets rolled down the tips of the tentacles, leaving a trail of dark, wet marks on the dry bricks.

Ezra’s gaze lingered on those tentacles for a moment, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

Daniel was one of the Deep Sea Creatures.

These Deep Sea Creatures were a new bloodline created by the High Priests of the Tide Hall, inspired by the Furnace Dwarves of the Heart of the Mountains and the Dragon Beastmen of the Blood Roar Fortress. The High Priests hunted down Sea Magical Beasts that had awakened the Power of Law, extracting and purifying their bloodlines to synthesize a reactive liquid known as Primordial Water.

They selected individuals with outstanding aptitude from the Sea Race and soaked them in this Primordial Water. Then, they implanted reactive organs harvested from the Sea Magical Beasts into their bodies, forcing a symbiotic fusion.

Successful candidates underwent irreversible physical changes. Their strength far surpassed that of their kin, and their chances of advancing to Legend increased drastically. The failures, however, either suffered mental collapse and turned into bloodthirsty Sea Monsters, or died a slow death from endless rejection reactions.

Even after a successful fusion, Deep Sea Creatures could never leave the deep ocean for too long for the rest of their lives. Otherwise, the symbiotic organs would turn on the host.

Despite all this, countless members of the Sea Race still fought tooth and nail to become Deep Sea Creatures. Beyond the raw strength, it was primarily because this bloodline could be passed down to their descendants. After hundreds of years of inheritance, these Deep Sea Creatures had long become an entirely new species within the Sea Race.

Ezra could understand this choice. On the Dawn Continent, power was everything. As long as one could obtain formidable strength and an excellent bloodline to pass on, plenty of people were willing to take the gamble, regardless of the risks.

"What are you spacing out for?" Daniel asked gruffly as he walked up to him.

"Nothing." Ezra shook his head, not elaborating. "Did you need me for something?"

"The Clan Leaders feel that the recent movements of the other four factions are a bit suspicious," Daniel said in a deep voice. "They want you to take a squad and scout it out."

Ezra nodded and hopped down from the battlements. "Alright, I’ll go arrange the men right now—"

A low, drawn-out horn blast interrupted him before he could finish.

Ezra and Daniel looked toward the ruins in shock. At the edge of their vision, a dense swarm of silhouettes abruptly appeared, surging toward them like a tidal wave.

"It’s an enemy attack!" Ezra reacted instantly, his expression shifting. "That direction is the Blood Roar Fortress. It’s those damn Beastmen!"

He turned and roared at the soldiers nearby. "Ring the bell! Sound the alarm!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the tolling of an alarm bell rang out from another section of the wall. Almost simultaneously, the exact same sound echoed from the wall on the opposite side.

Ezra froze in his tracks.

There were enemies coming from the other two directions as well?

What in the world was going on?

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